Monster Hunter Online Will Be Released in the US and Europe (UPDATED)

Yesterday the Chinese MMO giant Tencent Games and Capcom showcased Monster Hunter Online for the Chinese market, and a Japanese release was announced. We also saw some great screenshots and the first trailer.

What we still didn’t know was if the game would come westwards. The bomb has been dropped today by an unexpected source: Crytek’s CryEengine Director of Business Development Areil Cai was quoted in a press release announcing that Monster Hunter Online is being developed with CryEngine 3 as its base. Here are the relevant parts:

CryENGINE 3 is the perfect fit for the series, and will ensure Tencent Games and Capcom are well equipped to make Monster Hunter Online the groundbreaking MMORPG experience fans worldwide are eagerly anticipating.

Monster Hunter Online will be developed for the international market by Tencent Games and Capcom, and marks an exciting new era for a series that has enjoyed critical praise to match its popularity with players.

There you have it: while it’s not exactly straight from the lion’s mouth, it’s definitely the next best thing for those that (like me) were eagerly awaiting an announcement on a possible localization.

Crytek also published the trailer in its own official CryEngine development channel, and since the quality is much higher than what was displayed by the one published yesterday by Tencent, you can enjoy it below.

Update: Crytek just sent in a press release basically saying that they jumped the gun, and the game is NOT confirmed for an US and European Release. You can read the relevant quote here.